Here’s a little teabag wisdom to get your day going.

“Mental happiness is total relaxation.”

Now, this is good.  What does it mean to be mentally happy?  No worries.  No arguments or judgments about yourself or others.  No anxiety about the past or the future.  No negative emotions.  But instead of defining mental happiness in terms of what it is not, let’s define it in a positive way.

Mental happiness is waking up from a good night’s sleep.  It’s gazing at a sleeping newborn.  It’s sitting alone by the ocean listening to the waves roll in.  It’s enjoying the magnificence of a sunrise or sunset.  It’s smelling the clean air surrounded by pine trees in the mountains.  It’s taking a few minutes out of each day to be silent and marvel at the wonders of the universe.  It’s being grateful for everything you have in your life.

I’m sure the list is endless and different for everyone.  What does mental happiness mean to you?

Posted: August 3rd, 2008 under Stained Glass, meditation, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 4

Over the past several months I’ve talked about being mindful and present to each moment of our lives.  It’s so easy to forget.  To fall back on old habits.  To blame others for all the bad things that happen in our lives.

This past week, I’ve gotten past the “why me” stage of my broken ankle and have once again focused on being present.  While I wouldn’t recommend that anyone break an arm, a foot, or a leg, using crutches has forced me to be mindful of every movement of my body. 

Walking up and down steps has been especially challenging.  Going up, I need to place my right foot on the step, raise my body until I’m balanced, place the crutches on the step then repeat the process.  Going down, I do the opposite, place the crutches on the step below, lower my injured leg, step down with my right.  Even after doing this several days, I still have to stay focused.  If not, I’m tumbling down a flight of stairs.

Fixing meals is also a challenge.  In my small kitchen, I hobble to the refrigerator, take out a yogurt and fresh fruit, hobble to the counter, moving the fruit toward the sink to rinse, hobble to the drawer for a knife, hobble back.  After filling my bowl, the next challenge is to carry it to the table while using both hands on the crutches.  With a little stretching, I manage to make it to the table in one piece.  The alternate, I suppose, is eating standing up in the kitchen, but it’s not as comfortable.

I’ve been very fortunate this past week to have my husband home.  He’s made the meals, carried my pillows up and down the stairs, drove me to the doctor’s office and to visit my mother.  I’m so grateful.  Today he went back to work.  So I’m alone, fending for myself.

I realized that breaking my ankle did more for me than slow me down.  It made me appreciate the miracle of my body.  How many times to we take our bodies for granted?  We constantly use our hands and our feet, our arms, legs, neck, and torso.  We see, hear, touch, taste and smell without a second thought.  Only when something is taken away do we really stop and realize the miracle that we are.

So if you life seems out of control, try this experiment.  Take an ace bandage, wrap it around your ankle and walk on crutches for week.  You’ll get frustrated, angry, annoyed.  You’ll want to rip the bandage off and say to heck with this.  But don’t.  Keep the bandage on, keep using the crutches until you can feel happy that you still have one good foot, two good arms and hands.  You can see and hear, touch, taste and smell.  You can love and be loved.  Then go ahead and put the crutches away.

Posted: July 28th, 2008 under Uncategorized, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

Did you ever stop to consider the important things in life?  Maybe what’s important to one person isn’t as important to the next.  But as I sit in bed, sipping my tea, I realize that at the top of my list is my health, my family, and friends.

I’m an active person.  I like to get up and get going in the morning.  I rely on my body – my feet, my arms, my hands, my torso, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my nose, to do what they were meant to do.  When something goes wrong and one of my body parts doesn’t work normally, I need to stop, think, and adjust to make accommodations. 

For the next 4-6 weeks, I’ll need to keep my toes higher than my heart to keep the swelling in my ankle down.  I’ll need to use my crutches to move.  I’ll need to scoot on my backside to go up and down stairs.  I’ll need to figure out innovative ways to exercise my body.

I’m so grateful for my husband who brings me a cup of tea and makes my meals without complaint.  I’m so grateful that I have insurance to cover the doctor bills.  I’m so grateful for all my family and friends who have stopped by, phoned, or emailed their good wishes for a speedy recovery.

It’s good to reflect on the important things in life, to appreciate the good and not think about the bad.  In a way it’s like a mini-vacation from the mind-stuff that clutters our day with worries, fears, and anxieties.

While I don’t wish anyone a broken ankle, I hope you can find a few minutes every day to take a mini-vacation.  Enjoy the important things in life.  And smile.

Posted: July 22nd, 2008 under present moment.
Comments: 3

Yesterday I had a busy mind.  I wasn’t worried or upset about anything in particular, simply thinking about what I was going to do that day.  After waking up half an hour later than expected, I rushed to meet a friend at the beach for a walk.  On the drive there, my eyes wandered to the scenery I passed, not paying particular attention to the road ahead.  I parked and walked through the maze of cars already at the beach.  Surfers and scuba divers stood next to their cars getting ready to enter the ocean.  My eyes scanned the boardwalk, looking for my friend. 

In the next instant, I was kissing the parking lot.  My foot hit a hole.  My ankle twisted.  My knee scraped against asphalt.  Blood oozed down my leg.  My entire body was jarred.

A good Samaritan came to the rescue, lifting me up and sitting me on his truck bed, found my friend, then headed for the beach.

An hour later, I was sitting in urgent care getting an x-ray.  The physician’s assistant gave me the bad news.  I’d broken my ankle bone.  I’ll be using crutches and wearing a cast for at least a month.  No driving while on pain medication.  No walks on the beach.  No riding a bike.  No yoga asana.

There’s a lesson to be learned here.  Pay attention.  Be present in everything you do. 

If my mind wasn’t focused on the day ahead and instead present in the moment, I may not have fallen.  This is a good lesson for me.  It’s a reminder to stop my busy mind and slow down.

Hope your day was better than mine.

Posted: July 20th, 2008 under present moment.
Comments: 5

Don’t worry.  Be happy. 

It’s hard to be happy these days when we are bombarded with all the bad news about the Iraq war and the economy.  I won’t even write down all the negative details, because bringing them to the forefront of my mind makes me anxious, depressed and worried. 

So if your feeling like life is dragging you down.  Click on the links below and put a smile on your face.  Just a simple smile can make you feel better.  So don’t forget.  Don’t worry. Be happy.

Bobby Mcferrin made these four words famous a long time ago, but I still find myself humming the tune whenever life seems to be dragging me down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02zOk_LQCkY&feature=related

And for those who just can bring themselves to listen to Bobby Mcferrin’s song, here’s one by

Bob Marley singing “Everything’s Gonna be Alright.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7K0Dp2M2fE&feature=related

Don’t worry.  Be happy.  Everything’s gonna be alright.  Don’t you feel better already?  I do

 So stay in the present moment.  Stop thinking about all the things you can’t do anything about and just BE HAPPY.

Posted: July 16th, 2008 under present moment.
Comments: none

I must be drinking a lot of tea lately, or maybe blogging a little less, because my teabag tags are accumulating.  Some sayings are just too good to throw away, so grab your cup of tea, stretch out your legs, and contemplate the following:

“Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.” Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928)

Ah. So true.  I bet Herbert wrote this quote around the time he turned 50.  It seems that once you hit that age, your kids are grown, you still have your health, you’ve saved up some money to enjoy life a bit more, and you have lots of good memories to ponder.  It also seems to be the time that we are more accepting of life, not striving as much.  What do you think?

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”  Chinese Proverb

Again – another truism.  Although some students and parents might argue that it’s the job of teachers to teach, it’s really the job of students of open their minds to learn.  In life you must take care of yourself.  That includes learning all you can to be the best you can be.

And the final wisdom of the day – one that is so simple, yet sometimes so hard to accept.

“Let things come to you.”  author unknown

There is one word that sums this quote.  Patience.  We all need more patience in life.  With patience, all things are possible.  So open your heart, pursue your dreams, by patient, and let things come to you.

Have a great day!

Posted: July 9th, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 2

You’ve heard me talk about tea bag wisdom in the past, but this time I’m taking the wisdom a step further.  Not only are those little sayings on my tea bags good for the soul, now here’s an article that talks about how good green tea is for the heart

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080705/hl_time/doesgreenteahelptheheart

But not to feel like you are short-changed, here are a few words of wisdom to think about when drinking your next cup of green tea.

“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.”  Aristotle

So what do your actions say about you?  Do you take chances or focus on a goal and work toward it?  Do you surround yourself in nature or get caught up with everyday stresses?  Are you compulsive or do you honor your body and work diligently to accomplish your goals?  Are your habits good or bad for you? Do you listen to others before reacting?  Where is your passion?  What do you desire?  Hmm.  That’s a lot to think about.

Let me make this short and end with a Chinese Proverb: “When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy.” 

Drink up everyone.  Here’s to your health.

Posted: July 8th, 2008 under healthy eating, heart disease, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

Floating down the Merced River, I’m overcome with a sense of peace.  The cold, clear river flows quiet and smooth.  Trout swim past.  The depth of the water changes with each stroke of the paddle. Sometimes I see the sandy bottom or smooth river rock in shades of brown, tan and beige.  Sometimes the river is shallow other times it is deep.  The silence and serenity fill me.

As I move along, I pass a lone boulder deposited from some long ago flood.  The sudden change in depth causes a ripple in the otherwise glass-like surface.  Branches and fallen trees lay on their sides, a reminder of the forces of nature.  Bird nests abound among the bushes and trees lining the river.  I blue jay swoops overhead.

In Yosemite Valley, I am surrounded by mighty granite cliffs, tall pines and cottonwoods shedding their seeds in a summer snow.  White wildflowers open to the glistening sun.  An occasional bridge and the sight of children frolicking near a sandbar remind me that I share this beautiful National Park with millions who come to visit each year.  I smile, happy to be among them.

As I exit the river, I leave nothing behind and take precious memories to last a lifetime.

What is your favorite National Park memory?

Posted: July 1st, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 2

As an adult, we remember too many things and think too much.  We worry, become anxious and fearful.  We tend to remember the bad stuff and forget the good stuff.  But take a moment to look at life through a child’s eyes.

A child wakes up in the morning and wants to run and play.

A child looks up in the sky and imagines faces and cats and hippos in the clouds.

A child picks a bouquet of dandelion flowers and gives them to his mother.

A child sings happy songs.

A child steps in all the rain puddles as she walks down the street.

A child sits quietly and plays in the mud with his mother’s baking dishes.

A child enjoys playing baseball, soccer, and other group sports.

A child eats peanut butter off a spoon.

A child jumps on a bed.

A child learns language so she can talk to others.

A child crawls around on hands and knees.

A child oo’s and aa’s at the beauty of nature.

A child likes to stop and pet a dog or cat, their fur is so soft.

A child builds sand castles on the beach.

A child collects sea shells on vacation.

A child stands on his head to experience the world upside down.

A child smiles at friendly faces.

So for today, let’s look at life through a child’s eyes.  Let’s go through our day with a sense of awe and wonder.  Let’s be present to each moment and rejoice in it’s beauty.

Posted: June 14th, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 3

I woke up early this morning with a feeling of gratitude.

I have so much to be thankful for, as a human being, as a woman, a wife and mother, an American.  I sit here sipping my tea, looking all around me.  As an American, I have my freedom and live in a beautiful country, free to vote, to wear what I want, to choose the food I want to eat, free to do what I want in life.  As a wife and mother, I have a family to love and family that loves me.  My immediate family is small, yet the number of my extended family and friends is large and grows with each passing day.  As a woman, I am grateful to have the ability to bear children.  As a human being, I am thankful for my compassion, kindness and love, for my ability to think and reason and make my own decisions.

My gratitude also extends to the material world.  I am grateful for the home that shelters me from the weather, clothes to cover my body, furniture to sit comfortably, food that is nourishing and plentiful.  I read the newspaper and listen to the news hearing reports of so many people living in poverty, without food and shelter.  Countries are at war, destroying what little these people have.  There are so many who are out of work and don’t have the money for basic staples.  I do what I can to help, but the need is so great.

I glance outside at the green leaves of the magnolia tree, the lilies, petunias, and ornamental grass.  The sky is overcast in early morning fog, yet I know that to the west is the ocean, to the east are mountains.  Down the road there are rivers and lakes, waterfalls and streams.  The sun will appear later today, the moon will rise later this evening and fill the sky with millions of stars.  I am so grateful for this beautiful planet and this wondrous universe.

What are you grateful for?

Posted: June 11th, 2008 under Stained Glass, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1